Debt, private and public, and in particular excessive debt, has been debated to be one of the root causes of economic crises. At the same time, economic crises are believed to lead to an increase of debt. This book, through a range of contributors, explores certain constituents of an economy and attempts to identify their contribution to debt (public and private), especially in times of crisis; namely, bonds, tariffs, social security and non-performing loans (NPLs). Furthermore, it captures the (implicit) impact of the demography on debt through tariffs and social security and investigates the effect of quantitative easing/purchase programs and as well as crises on debt. In addition, the (cost of the) reserve that a state may want to provision for, in order to secure its economy from defaulting within a certain time horizon, is also addressed and calculated. This calculation offers an alternative valuation, or pricing, of (excess) debt (default protection). This book aims to offer a comparative study of countries - especially those with a history of excessive debt - and intends to realize whether an economic crisis can genuinely deteriorate debt, or whether the debt unsustainability is preexisting to the crisis. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economic policy and growth.

Fixed income investments have been a topic of broad interest, in particular for institutional investors such as insurance companies and pensions schemes. They were considered safe heavens in turbulent times by almost all other institutional and individual investors and are used for strategies such as portfolio immunization and asset liability matching (ALM). The latest crisis, however, revealed some of the weaknesses of fixed income instruments. They proved to be not as safe as originally thought with both credit and interest rate risks emerging. Consequently, fixed income investments have been in the spotlight once more. This book presents all aspects pertaining to fixed income investments, starting from the basics-i.e. the types of bonds, their valuation, the interest rate term structure-then moving to fixed income portfolio management and the interest rate and credit derivatives and their relevant markets, funds, risks and risk management. Finally, the book addresses contemporary issues such as their behavior in times of crisis, their relation to debt, their coexistence with equity and the current regulatory environment. This book, providing a look at the broader environment of fixed income alongside the current market structure, will be of interest to students, academics, researchers and practitioners in fixed income and investing strategies.

Debt, private and public, and in particular excessive debt, has been debated to be one of the root causes of economic crises. At the same time, economic crises are believed to lead to an increase of debt. This book, through a range of contributors, explores certain constituents of an economy and attempts to identify their contribution to debt (public and private), especially in times of crisis; namely, bonds, tariffs, social security and non-performing loans (NPLs). Furthermore, it captures the (implicit) impact of the demography on debt through tariffs and social security and investigates the effect of quantitative easing/purchase programs and as well as crises on debt. In addition, the (cost of the) reserve that a state may want to provision for, in order to secure its economy from defaulting within a certain time horizon, is also addressed and calculated. This calculation offers an alternative valuation, or pricing, of (excess) debt (default protection). This book aims to offer a comparative study of countries - especially those with a history of excessive debt - and intends to realize whether an economic crisis can genuinely deteriorate debt, or whether the debt unsustainability is preexisting to the crisis. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economic policy and growth.

Fixed income investments have been a topic of broad interest, in particular for institutional investors such as insurance companies and pensions schemes. They were considered safe heavens in turbulent times by almost all other institutional and individual investors and are used for strategies such as portfolio immunization and asset liability matching (ALM). The latest crisis, however, revealed some of the weaknesses of fixed income instruments. They proved to be not as safe as originally thought with both credit and interest rate risks emerging. Consequently, fixed income investments have been in the spotlight once more. This book presents all aspects pertaining to fixed income investments, starting from the basics—i.e. the types of bonds, their valuation, the interest rate term structure—then moving to fixed income portfolio management and the interest rate and credit derivatives and their relevant markets, funds, risks and risk management. Finally, the book addresses contemporary issues such as their behavior in times of crisis, their relation to debt, their coexistence with equity and the current regulatory environment. This book, providing a look at the broader environment of fixed income alongside the current market structure, will be of interest to students, academics, researchers and practitioners in fixed income and investing strategies.​